Crown Heights Afternoon - 2

While waiting outside of 770 Eastern Parkway for a friend to appear, a group of women alit from a bus returning from the Ohel - the Rebbe's cemetery. Great pickings for street photography in Crown Heights.

Crown Heights Afternoon

I took a walk in Crown Heights, Brooklyn this afternoon and stopped into 770 Eastern Parkway - which is the world headquarters for the Chabad movement. I've been there many times before, and really love shooting there. I'd always used a zoom lens when I shot there, but today I had my primes with me, and the Fuji 50/f2 was on the camera when one of the students invited me into a tiny alcove where the torah was being read. Usually in that room I would have used the 14/f2.8. I had no time to change lenses, so I did the best I could. I need to go back again to shoot there.

Tsfat - 2

For a small place in the Galilee, Tsfat has quite a cross section of types of people - from ultra-religious and mizrachi to hipsters and hippies. No matter how they dress, probably 90% of all the men wear kippas and tsitstit. There are Ashkenazi chassidim artists and Yemeni food stand operators. But there's one common denominator in the town, spirituality oozes from every stone and doorway. 

Tsfat - 1

Tsfat, at an elevation of 3000 feet, is the one of the highest points in northern Israel (Mt. Hermon is the highest). Close by is Mt. Meron, which is the resting place of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, a famous mystical scholar who is celebrated every year in Israel on the holiday of Lag B'Omer. The city literally sits on the very top of the mountain and its streets twist and turn down from the peak. Many streets which look to be adjacent on a map are separated by elevations of fifty feet or more, and are connected by steep pedestrian stairways. The mountain has been subjected to several earthquakes over the years and the buildings, which are made of soft local stone have been destroyed and rebuild many times over. The views are majestic. I'm not usually inclined to do scenic/landscape photography, but it's hard to resist shooting the beautiful scenery.

Tsfat is considered to be the home of Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism. And there are many small but very beautiful synagogues throughout the old city. But that's for the next post. Here's some views of the scenery.

Israel Day Parade 2017

The day was perfect for taking pictures of a Parade. A fun day!